Tuesday, May 20, 2014

2015 GMC Canyon Brings Patent-Pending Child Safety Restraint Feature

We can't stop talking about the all-new 2015 GMC Canyon. But, can you blame us? As we learn more details and features the new mid-size truck has to offer, the more excited we are to be able to offer the new truck to our Oklahoma customers. Last month we covered how AutoTrader.com named the '15 Canyon a Top 10 Must Drive Truck for 2014. We now have news that's sure to make our family conscience shoppers happy. The 2015 GMC Canyon will feature segment safety firsts including a patent-pending child safety feature.

Child restraint manufacturers recommend vehicles have at least 80% of the base of a child seat to fit on the seat cushion. This can be a problem for many extended-cab pickups like the GMC Canyon. Most extended cab pickups have jump seats with shorter bottom cushions. The engineers at GMC have designed a clever solution for the 2015 Canyon extended cab to help keep kids in child restraints safe in a collision.

Using the rear jump seat headrest on the passenger side of the extended-cab Canyon, the jump seat cushion can be extended by removing the head rest and inserting it horizontally into the seat base - see video below. This helps the extended-cab Canyon satisfy the seat base recommendation of most child restraint manufacturers.

In addition to this patent-pending design, the all-new Canyon will be the first midsize truck to offer Forward Collision Alert and Lane Departure Warning technology as part of the available Driver Alert Package.

The release of the new Canyon comes at a time when GM has placed more emphasis on customer demand. The company recently released outlines in an effort to "Transform Transportation."

Mike Robinson, vice president, GM Sustainability and Global Regulatory Affairs. “We are reimagining transportation using a long-term, customer-centric approach.”CEO Mary Barra. “People care about more than the cars. They care how we build them, and how we engage with the world around us."

With segment first safety features, including the new backseat child restraint support, GMC is laying the building blocks to transform transportation, in true professional grade style. The family-friendly 2015 GMC Canyon also offers segment best horsepower, segment best payload, and segment best maximum trailering rating.

The 2015 GMC Canyon is expected to arrive at our Broken Arrow dealership this fall.

“It’s an elegant solution that makes efficient use of the limited space in the rear seat in this type of vehicle, by allowing us to adapt the seat cushion length for child restraint installation,” said Eduardo Bugelli, safety performance team lead. “The additional seat cushion length provides more support to the child restraint, which helps to reduce the rotation and the risk of injury in a crash.”